Pat Metheny
One Quiet Night

A work for a select few and still dedicated to fans of Pat Metheny and his sounds.

It emerged almost as a technical exercise, without any pretension; it started in solitude and quietly in Pat's private studio, when he received his baritone guitar made for him by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer (have you ever seen the Pikasso guitar Linda built for Pat? Google it!). This instrument, with its sturdier strings and longer scale, allows for a low tuning, providing more available bass notes and sustain, almost as if bass and guitar were present in the same enclosure. Therefore, with the addition of a repetitive rhythmic element, like the cadence of the accompaniment chords played with the right hand, it can give the impression of hearing a complete trio of guitar, bass, and percussion.

The first track is "One Quiet Night": a delicate arpeggio constructs a quiet and sparse melody that unfolds with harmonics and scattered notes. Next is "Song For The Boys", dedicated to his two sons: this is the track that best exemplifies what I have tried to explain above: in this gem, rhythmic rides and quiet arpeggios alternate, with the typical pace of the best tracks of the Pat Metheny Group. There's no joking around: here you can hear the PMG and its full sound! The third track is the piece that featured on Norah Jones' first album: "Don't Know Why"; this song is rendered in a truly original way, with an arrangement that deviates slightly from Jones' version, except for a key change that adds charm and movement to the piece. Beautiful interpretation, heartfelt and full of emotion.

Pat Metheny has clearly listened to tons of healthy and solid rock, and it shows. In this album, he has much more in common with CSN&Y and James Taylor than with Joe Pass or Jim Hall, his mentor. "Another Chance" is a calm and sad piece that develops gradually, changing along the way and showing the evolving thoughts of an artist who improvises: improvising is composing in real-time and is daily bread for a global and intelligent musician who respects himself. "And Time Goes On" remains in the same 'thoughtful' shadow. The same goes for "My Song" and "Peace Memory". Then something comes along that broadens the heart: "Ferry Cross The Mersey", a classic ballad from the '60s, also popular in Italy, reworked in a very personal way, with slightly oblique chords and a theme that enters one ear and sticks in your mind for days. "Over on 4th Street" reiterates the concept of the ride and again recalls the PMG. "I Will Find The Way" returns to thinking, starting and stopping, in time, or maybe not, with indecision. The melancholy returns in the studio for a moment and continues with the same cadence as "North To South, East To West". The last track, "Last Train Home", takes us back to the early Pat Metheny atmospheres, with relatively simple yet classy arpeggios, with a small 8-second western arpeggio finale.

Pat Metheny is one of those who make art seem easy peasy, like riding a bike. Yet how much work and sacrifice to bring out, after years of toil, even something direct, subdued, and penetrating like this. I labeled this album as "contemporary jazz," but there is not much jazz in this album in the classical sense of the term; just plentiful tranquility, soul, and rarefied intimacy music, in the good sense of the term. Not muzak, therefore, but just high quality. The most immediate parallel comes with "Beyond The Missouri Sky", for the choice of tracks, the atmospheres, and the way of handling the dynamic of sounds of an instrument, the guitar, strongly limited under this aspect. Beautiful, no doubt about it.

It's not possible to give it 5 stars just because it remains the stylistic exercise of a schoolmaster, a kind of notebook of ideas that nevertheless sound so good together as to make an album. Probably if it had been Pierre Bensusan or Riccardo Zappa, it would have been a 5-star! The cruel fate of those who create great art: expectations are always for the best of the best. However, in this album, Pat is alone at night with his little guitar and a tape recorder on, playing whatever comes to mind. Without commercial aims or anything else; some notes are included in the development that came out a bit 'silly' that Pat said he wanted to leave because all in all, it was fine as it was. Perfection is not of this world. Jarrett says that the artist is destined for a lifetime of trying to improve his art without ever truly succeeding. In this humble "wanting to empty the sea with a bucket," which simultaneously produces a bit of beauty for other men, likely lies the greatness of an artist. The music is then made of perceived notes and immediate feedback that comes back to the artist in a continuous closed loop.

This album, however, was recorded in absolute solitude, without even a technician listening. Countercurrent and astonishing Pat: "One Quiet Night" is the opposite side of the coin where "Zero Tolerance For Silence" is. And yet, an aspect absolutely worth discovering of the artist for all enthusiasts. For those who don't know Pat, still a little gem.